Luke Erb slipped his glove from his right hand and strode confidently off the field.

The Brandywine Heights starting pitcher breezed through the first inning, retiring the Nueva Esperanza lineup in order.

After just 10 pitches, Erb knew he was in for a dominant outing Tuesday.

"Once I got through the first inning, I felt pretty confident," Erb said. "I just wanted to throw my stuff. Don't relax, just go out there and keep on doing what I was doing and I knew we'd be all right."

Brandywine was more than all right in its first-round PIAA-AA game Tuesday, defeating the Toros 9-1 at Muhlenberg's Gochnauer Field behind a complete-game, 13-strikeout performance from Erb. An overmatched Esperanza team managed just two hits against Erb.

Brandywine (16-7) advances to face District 2 champion Holy Redeemer, which defeated South Williamsport 3-2 Tuesday. The teams will meet in a state quarterfinal game Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

"I think we've got one under our belt here so I told them we're one of eight teams left and it's going to get tougher each game from here and get better and better," Bullets coach Chris Cole said. "Every game has to be our best game."

On Tuesday, the Toros (11-11) couldn't match Erb's best. Esperanza was helpless against his fastball and sharp curveball all game.

The Brandywine pitcher retired the first nine batters, including striking out the side in the third inning.

After watching teammates Adelso Perez and Sam Rodriguez walk back to the dugout following strikeouts to start the inning, shortstop Raul Escolatico stepped to the plate.

Escolatico, the No. 9 hitter, took a timid check swing on the first pitch and didn't bother to take the bat off his shoulder as Erb quickly fired a second strike. A curveball ended the inning and sent Escolatico back to the dugout nodding in defeat.

"I wanted them to be a little bit confused with what was coming at them so that they didn't sit on one pitch," Erb said. "My goal was to keep them guessing every single pitch."

Brandywine scored twice in the first inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead.

The Bullets added four more runs in the bottom of the third as Esperanza pitcher Yamil Morera began to lose his control. Morera finished with eight walks in the game.

Catcher Kevin Sell said the Bullets' early advantage fueled their confidence.

"When you score in the first inning and you put a couple zero spots up for them, then you feel confident that you got the lead going into the game," said Sell, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs. "You're not too worried about them scoring a couple runs here and there."

With Erb cruising on the mound, Sell and his teammates had little to worry about Tuesday. The lefty struck out the side again in the fifth inning, leaving the Esperanza players smiling on their walks back to the dugout this time.

The Toros couldn't catch up to his fastball or fight off his curveball.

Erb pounded the strike zone with the two-pitch combination all seven innings, finishing the game with a three-pitch strikeout.

"I think he just had them off balance to the point where the fastball was getting by them and he had a great curveball that they weren't really able to hit," Cole said.